Chair and Tin Horse Highways

It all started when Lyn submitted a one-page statement of interest (actually, she figures it should have been disinterest), to help the Lake King Progressive Association display and promote 4 handmade, 4-wheel drive tractors to the touring public. Lake King is a farming community with a population of 220 and is located on the very edge of the Western Australia wheat belt, right where it meets the middle of nowhere.

We set out on the 6-hour drive with no great expectations, but were soon seduced by roadside attractions. The Brookden Highway would have been a fairly ho-hum drive through the bush without the addition of randomly-placed chairs along the way. We saw Harry, Art, Lester, Jock, Daisy and Rosie and and an unnamed offering with a log placed purposely, albeit cryptically, across its back. Next stop was the Corrigin dog cemetery (not sure where their cats end up), which demanded some time. There seemed to be a religious section which featured crosses, but there was no further indication of what particular denomination those dogs represented.

Tin Horse highway through Kulin is a long stretch featuring horse sculptures made from farm barrels and other metal bits - a striking demonstration of creativity and resourcefulness by farmer/welders with lots of time on their hands.

We pulled into the Lake King Tavern with a few minutes to spare before Lyn's scheduled interview with the tractor guys. The Tavern is at the Lake King crossroads and we were fortunate to get the last room at the inn. There was a German team of scientists studying weather patterns (I'm not sure why; it's always hot and sunny), Australians building evaporation ponds for a nearby mine and other Hydro workers rebuilding something. We shared some beers and stories with the locals before dinner and ate dinner at the tavern, since there's no where else in town to do that. The next morning we were off to the southern coast, Hopetoun, where Lyn had her last interview with a tractor-builder.

That night we stayed with friends near Albany who have a small farm and had a fabulous dinner completely "off the block", which means that everything that we ate was grown there. I'm glad I missed the sheep-slaughtering session which yielded the roast, but was amazed by the passion fruit vine that was laden with my now-favorite fruit.